Flexible tube discharge valve construction



July 14, 1953 s. KAHN FLEXIBLE TUBE DISCHARGE VALVE CONSTRUCTION FiledJune 16, 1950 1 Hill! FIG. 6 46 INVENTOR 80727;!!! Mb @TLJ, whomATTORNEYS Patented July 14, 1953 1- UNITED STATES PATE OFFICE FLEXIBLETUBE DISCHARGE VALVE CONSTRUCTION Samuel Kahn, Bridgeport, Conm,assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Maryland DevicesyInc Baltimore, Md, a corporationof Maryland Application June 16, 1950,Ser ialNo. 168,477

y 1 V I This invention relates to discharge valves and discharge valveassemblies for self-dispensing pressure-tight containers. Moreparticularly, it is. concerned with a novel discharge valve theoperating principlesof which are believed to be entirely new todischarge valves for self-dispensing pressure-tight containers and inwhich the discharge siphon tube common to most self- .dispensingpressure-tight containers is an integralpart f the valve. I

The heretofore most common and widely accepted type of discharge valvefor pressure-tight containers, comprises a valve assembly adapted to besecured in an opening in the upper end of a pressure-tight container andincluding a pop- .pet valve spring urged into engagement with av valveseat and adapted to be unseated therefrom by a button extending upwardlyfrom the valve andengageable by a userfs finger. A flexible diaphragm isnormally secured to the valve assembly acro'ssthe upper end of thebutton.

whereby the users finger actually engages the fdiaphragm in order tooperate the valve. Such a'valve assembly is normally very small in sizerelative to a usersfinger and is fairly fatiguing inauses Additionally;considerable difiiculty has i been encountered in obtaining apressure-tight seal between the valve assembly and the container endwall, though one such valve which substantially eliminatesthis lattercharacteristie. is disclosed: in the copending application Serial Noh161,835 offAbeO. Samuels, filed May -13, 1950. a p Among the objects ofthis-invention is the provision 'of a novel discharge valve whichpresents a relativ'ely large finger engaging surface'for operationthereof and which may be secured-in a pressure-tight container, so thatleakage around itwill not result. 1 i

maintained pressed tightly against the lower portion of the .valve corein pressure-tight relation therewith, A passageway is formed in theside-wall of the valve core above that portion of the coreagainst whichthe flexible .'tube is tightly pressedandintersects.the upper end of thelongitudinally+extending hole in the valve core.- An annularcollarsurrounds the upper end of the valvecore'and the flexibledischarge tube. and is adapted to v be .moved axially into 15 Claims.(c1.'22.2--394l and out of a position in whichit presses the flexibletube tightly against a portion of the valve core above the passagewaythrough the valve core.- This annular collar is normally maintained inthe position in which it so presses the flexible tube against the valvecore by a is provided which overlies the discharge valve above describedand supports -a nozzle around one end of which is secured the upper endof The cover is also provided with an opening in itsjtop through theflexible discharge tube.

which a valve actuating button extends. The lower-end of the buttonengages the top, or upper end, of the annular collar and by depressionthereof the valve may be opened. This form of my invention iscontemplated for use with pressure-tightcontainers containing gaseousfluids or liquids of low viscosity.

In another form a of my invention which is contemplated for use withmore viscous mate,- rials such as whipped cream, shaving cream,

etc., the cover is provided with a ratherlarge passageway.theretl'irough the lower end; of

which surrounds or receives the upp r endof the annular collar and-theother end of which terminates in a notched flange. The number and'sizeof the notches in the notched flange may be varied in accordance withthe nature of the material to be dispensed. I

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be made to thefollowing more de-.

tailed description thereof in connection with the .formof, valve shownin accompanying drawings in which:

I Fig. 1 is a plan view of one found discharge valve or discharge valveassembly of my inven- ,tion secured to a pressure-tight container,

Fig. 2 is a sectionalview, in elevation, of the V Fig. Land shows thevalve in closed'position, w

ing the valve assembly of Figs. 1 through 4, and

l. Fig. 6 is a'sectional view in elevation of 'a Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of a valve core; -Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of thevalvein open position, I i

' the container and to haveits peripheralfflange interlocked with flangell'of thevcoiitainerlinra seal-tight joint. Usually a sealing compoundis to the upper portion of the discharge valve tube.

A compression spring 30 is provided to surround the annular collar andat its upper end engages the underface of flange 28 and at its lower endcontainer cover member I2. Thus, the spring normally maintains thecollar in its uppermost position thereby preventing the flowzofmaterial, under pressure, through the discharge tube.

.A discharge valve cover member 3! overlies the above describedstructure and is provided with a flange 32 around its lower edge bywhich it is 5ecured to the container cover member l2 as by beingcrimpedinwardly thereagainst at several f'points '33. p A conventionalnozzle 34 having an usedbetween flanges ll and=l-'3-to assure thattheinterlocking joint .formed thereby will be 1 pressure-tight. Containercover member l2'"has a-,central.opening. which is surrounded by an.integ'ral'fdepending 'flange '14, A flexible d-ischarge or siphontub'efextends through this .opening. This'tube may be ma'de'oif anymateriallso" long asit' is flexible, the only, limitation upon thematerial chosen for this-'purpose being thatlitsshould notbe onethatmight react with the contents or the container. Various plastics, orevenrubber, may be used for this purpose.

:A valve core l6 iscont'ained'within the flexible tube has its. lower"end, which is provided withan-annulari groove I 1,. received in theopen- :ing in container 'cover'member l 2' and surrounded byfiange' l4."'The'flange M' is-crimped ;in"at 1'8 .to;.-pr,ess.the flexible tubetightlyinto annular ,groovef H of' theyalvewcore" to j form apressuretight 'seal.. between. thetube and 'the valve core. :A holeorijbore 19 extends longitudinally into the valves-core fromxthe lowerend thereof terminatingraesubstantial distance above-the lower end.annularflchann'el 2 Ois'forme'd in the valvecore opposite. the upperend-"of 'ho-le l9 and" a passagewayf 2l,;places the"upper"end of-thehole l'9 in icommunication' with 'ch'annelZ-O. A tapered-valve V seatZZis formed on :the outer' 'sur'face o'f the valve core above "channel-29.The upper 'end'.i23 oi the valve corej isof "a" slightly greaterdiameter that, the remainder thereof'or than-'is'the interior of .theflexible tube and therefore it en'gagesii-the inner. wall. of the tuberather tightly. A vnotch'ior groove. is formed 'in'the upper end ofthevalve ecore and is of adepth such thatdts bottom is :Joelow, the levelof the upper'part 'ofthe'itapered ,valve seat 122. "It willsubsequentlysbe under- .stood that .1 instead of having a groove: orifnotch "formedinfthe upper face thereof a longitudinally I cextending "'gro'ove maybeformed :incthe t lateral face'o'f portion-23 o'f' 'th'eval-veicorerzand have. its lower end terminatingssomewherebelow-7theinpper'dge of' the tapered'valve seat.

a hn 'annular collarLZlrsurrounds-theupper of the *Valvercoreramd theflexible -tubezand is .pro-

vided with an :outwardly extending flange 28. at 'i'ts upper fiend.:inwardly extending circumferential :5 projection :29 -.is formed eonthe lower edge of fthecollar. :Th-is collar,wheninitsuppermostwposition,--is adaptedto press the flexiblestube'itightlyeagainst thetapered valve seatZZ of V $15iaxialidis'chargeepassage 35 is supported by the cover member ina'fianged opening 36 atone side ithereof. :Theilarger portion of thenozzle is containedwithin the cover 3| and the'upper end of the"flexible discharge tube I5 is secured thereover; Thus, material passingthrough, the dis-' charge tube is discharged throughnozzle 34.

-A v'alve-"'actuating button 31 is containe'd ior the most 'part :withinthe cover and has its upper 7 end -%extending" throu'gh' an opening- 38in the cover member." "It is provide'd-withan 1 annular wardly-toopenthe vailve. 'A -part lflof theothering- B'E-is prevented; But'ton3Tissu-pported by flange '28 of anna1arcor1ar21 and when depressed, asbytheapplication- 6f a -iiser 's finger to its upper'end, serves tom'ovethecollar downtainer. Thisassenibly: comprises =container' covermember [2, discharge valve; cover member 3.]

'- siphon tube -l5-and all or the pants contained the valve core to forma pressure-tight seal.

This;;po-sition--. ofthe:.annular -collar is "shown in ::Fig.' 2.However whenathe collar is moved downwardly to a position such as shownin Fig.-4;the flexible; tube is permitted. toj'di'senga'ge,1or becomeunseatedlirom, the -valve. seat and fluid under flnhessune isgpermittedtogpassthrough hole i9, passageway 2|, and notch "24of'thevalvecore betweenthe cover-members. V

Referring now to' 'l ig. 6, a I modified 1 form 6f "valve assem bly isshown which; as :"stated; is par ticiilarlyadapted to iusewit ntainersholdi-ng relatively wiscous -materiaI- under pressure.

The "details of the valve its'elf o'fthis form are substantially the'same as tho'se of -the 'above desc'rib'e'd form, with-minorexceptions-One of theseexceptions is valvecore2-4iinsteadiof "being 1 provided"with; groove orslot across itsupper 5 face is -here provided with one ior more grooves 4| formed in the outer lateral face therer ofand-:extending irom" the upperitacerof theicore' downwardly i' to'terminatefiin *the tap'ered i'valve seat. I In this jform;= the valvecollar .isia1sogsomewhat i "di fierent. Whereas 'in the apreviousiiiormthefloutwardly extending flange :28'5isi'formed at the upper extremityof the annularicollar;in this form it is not, and the "collar- 'has*aiportion' 42 extending above i flangei*2'8. .Aicoverunember or 'cap 43provided with :a :fingen'engaging depressed "nul'a'r coll'ar and has apassage 45 "throughit, the "lowereridof' whieh receives upper portion 42er thecoll'ar "The :outer. end of passage AE-terminatejs' in arelatively thin iiange dfi which there is {formed -a plurality "of"notches '41. These fnotches are fort'h'efpurpose of changing the shapeo'fthe relatively *viscous -"materia1 as it is expelled'throughpassage-' '!5=when "the discharge valve is open -so that the material"will not be j'discharge'd ftherefrom "as -'-a-*plai-n" tubular stream.:Itwiflfbe noted-that inthis form of valve assembiy thatthe"vaivemoveror eap is not==secured to container cover member I2 as wasthe dis.- charge. valve covert I of the previousform of valve assembly.i

In the appended claims the words upper, "lower and "above". are. used;for "simplicity to concisely set forth the invention and it should beunderstood that their. use. is not. intended to limit pose. ofrelatively locating particular parts. It will also be apparent thatvarious modifications of the forms of my invention disclosed may beinvention and my invention is. therefore to be tending laterally throughthe side wall of the valve core and intersecting said hole in the valvecore above that portion of the valve core tightly engaged by theflexible tube, an annular collar surrounding said tube andsaid valvecore and the diameter of the upper end of the valve core, said collarbeing movable axially into and out of a position in which said portionthereof presses said tube against the upper end of said valve core inpressure-tight relation above saidpassageway, and a spring normallyurging the collar toward the position in which it presses the tubeagainst the valve core.

2. A discharge valveaccording to claim 1 in in which the annular collarhas an outwardly extending peripheral flange at its upper end theunderface of which is engaged by the upper end of the spring. i I

3. A- discharge valve according to claim 1 in which the valve core has avalve seatformed adjacent the upper end thereof above saidpassagewayQthe annular collar being movable axially so that said portionthereof presses said tube against said valve seat.

4. A discharge valve according to claim 3 in '-Whi0h the wall of thevalve core above the valve seat portion thereof permanently engages thetube and has formed in it a slot extending from the upper face of thevalve core downwardly to the valve seat portion of the valve core.

5. A discharge valve according to claim 3 in which the upper end of thevalve core above the valve seat portion thereof has a peripheral edgewhich permanently engages the tube and in which the upper end of thevalve core has a slot formed across it having adepth such that thebottom of the slot is below said tube-engaging peripheral edge. I

6. A discharge valve according to claim 3 in which an annular channel isformed in he valve 7 core below said valve seat portion thereof, saidpassageway through the wall of the valve core having its outer end insaid annular channel.

7. A discharge valve according to claim 3 in which the valve seat istapered and in which the smaller diameter portion of the collar is anmade without departing from the scope of my limited to the extent setforth in the appended V pressure-tight relation thereto, a-passagewayexhaving a portion of smaller inner diameter than which the annularcollar presses the tube against the valve core when in its uppermostposition and the scope of the claims other than for the pur- V positionin which it presses the of the valve core has a slot formed across ithaving a depth such that the bottom of the slot is below said peripheraledge of the tapered valve seat.

9. A discharge valve assembly for a pressuretight container. comprisinga valve-supporting container cover member adapted to be secured in theupper endwall of the container, said container cover member having anopening therethrough, a flexible discharge tube extending through saidopening, a valve core the lower end oiwhich extends through said openinginside said flexible tube, a flange integral with the edge of saidcontainer cover member around the opening therein, said flange beingcrimped against the lower portion of the valve core to press theflexible tube thereagainst in seal-tight relation, a passagewayextending through the valve core from the bottom face thereof to a pointon the face of the side wall of the core abovesaid crimp-ed flange, theupper end of said valve core being of larger diameter than the portionthereof adjacent said point on the face of the, side wall, an annularcollar surrounding said valve core and said flexible tube and having aportion of smaller inner diameter than the diameter of the upper end ofthe valve core, said annular collar being movable axially so that saidportion thereof presses said tube against said valve core above saidpoint on the face of the side wall of the core, and a spring normallyurging the collar to the position in which it presses the tube againstthe valve core.

10. A discharge valve assembly for a pressuretight container comprisinga valve-supporting container cover member adapted to be secured in theupper end wall of the container, said container cover member having anopening therethrough, a flexible discharge tube extending. through saidopening, a valve core the lower end of which extends through saidopeninginsidesaid flexible tube, a flange inte ral with the edge of saidcontainer cover member around the opening therein,

thereof to the bottom of said annular channel,

an annular collar surroundingsaid valve core and said flexible tube andhaving a portion of smaller diameter than the diameter of the portion ofthe valve core above said annular channel, said annular collar beingmovable axially so that said portion thereof presses said tube againstsaid 7 valve core'above said annular channel, and a spring normallyurging the'collar towardthe tube against the valve core. v v

1 1. A-discharge valve assembly for 'a pressuretight containercomprising a valve-supporting container cover member adapted to besecured in the upper end wall of the container, said container covermember having an opening there through, a. flexible discharge tubeextending through-said opening, a valve core the lower end of whichextends through said opening inside said flexible tube, a, flangeintegral with the edge of said container cover member around the openingtherein, said flange-being crimped against the lower portion of thevalve core to press the flexib-le tube, thereagainst in seal-tightrelation, a passageway extending through the valve core from the bottomface thereof to a point on the face of the side wall of the core abovesaid crimped flange, the upper end of said valve core being of largerdiameter than the portion thereof adjacent said point on the face of theside wall, an

annular collar surrounding said valve core and said flexible tube" andhaving a portion of smaller inner diameter than the diameter of theupper end of the valve core, said annular collar being movable axiallyupwardly so that said portion thereof presses said tube against saidvalve core above said point on the face of the side wall of the core, anoutwardly extending circumferential flange on the collar, and a springcompressed between said flange and said container cover member tonormally urge the collar toward its upper position in which it pressesthe tubeagainst the valve core. I

12. A discharge valve assembly for a pressuretight container comprisinga valve-supporting container cover member adapted to be secured in theupper end wall of the container, said'container cover member having anopening therethrough, a flexible discharge tube extending through saidopening, a valve core the lower end of which extends through saidopening inside said flexible tube, a flange integral with the edge ofsaid "container cover member around the opening therein,.said flangebeing crimped against the lower portion of the valve core to press theflexible tube thereagainst in seal-tight relation, a passagewayextending through the valve core from the bottom face thereof to a pointon the face of the side wall of the core above said crimped flange, theupper end of said valve core being of larger diameter than the portionthereof adjacent said pointon the face of the side wall, an annularcollar surrounding said valve core and said flexible'tube and having aportion of smaller inner diameter than the diameter of the upper end ofthe'valve core, said annular collar being movable axially upwardly sothat said portion thereof presses said tube against said valve coreabove said point on the face of the side wall of the core, a springnormally urging the collar upwardly to the position in which it pressesthe tube against the valve core, a discharge cover member overlying saidvalve, spring, and valve core and secured to the peripheral edge of saidcontainer cover member, a nozzle supported in an opening through thedischarge valve cover member and having the upper end of the flexibledischarge tube secured about its inner end, and a valve actuating buttonextending through an opening in the top of the discharge valve covermember and resting upon the annular collar whereby depressionof thebutton effects depression of the collar to permit flow through the valvecore, thev discharge tube and the nozzle.

- -13. A discharge valve assembly for a pressuretight containercomprising a valve-supporting container cover member adapted to besecured in the upper end wall of the-container, said container memberhaving an opening therethrough, a, flexible discharge tube extendingthrough said opening, a valve core the lower end of which extendsthrough said opening inside said flexible tube, a flange integral withthe edge of said container cover member around the opening therein, saidflange being crimped against the lower portion of the valve core topress the flexible tubethereagainst in seal-tight relation, a passagewayextending through the valve core from the bottom face thereof to a pointon the face of the side wall'of the core above said crimped flange, theupper end of said valve core being of larger diameter than the portionthereof adjacent said point on the face of the side Wall, an annularcollar surrounding said valvecore and said flem'ble tube and having aportion of smaller inner diameter ,thanjthe diameter of the upper end ofthe valve 14. A discharge valve for a pressure-tight containercomprising a valve core having a hole formed therein which extendslongitudinally a substantial distance into the lower end thereof andterminates therein, aflexible discharge tube 'surrounding said valvecore, means for permanently maintaining the tube pressed tightly againstthe lowerside wall of the valve core in pressure-tight relation thereto,a passageway extending laterally through the side wall-of the valve coreand intersecting said hole in the valve core above that portion thereoftightly engaged by the flexibletube, an annular collar surrounde ingsaid tube and said valve core and havingai portion of smaller innerdiameterlthan the diameter of a portion of the valve core above saidpassageway, said collar being movable axially upwardly so that thesmaller diameter portion thereof presses said tube against said portionof the valve core in pressure-tight relation above said passageway, anoutwardly extending periph-Q eral flange on said collarintermediate thelength of the collar, and a springengaging the underface of said flangeto normally urge the collar upwardly toward the position in which it11135565 the tube against the valve core, and a discharge valve covermember having a passage therethrough one end of which receives the upperend of the annular collar and the other end of which terminates in aflange in which there is formed a plurality of notches, the dischargecover memher being supported solely by said annular collar.

15. A discharge valve accordingjto claim 14,-

which includes an inwardly extending projection at the lower edge of theannular collar adapted to engage said tube to press it tightly againstsaid valve core.

SAMUEL KAHN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS-Number Na-me 1 Date 1,163,471 Schramm; Dec. 7, i915 1,883,960 Koppel etal. Oct. 25, 1932

